Win or Lose
by wicked-twisted
Summary: Fuu loses a bet to Mugen... now she's stuck in a situation she didn't quite plan on.
1. Who's Afraid Of The Big Bad Wolf?

Hey all! New fic! I thought of it soon after I started my other one. I like this one more though! The idea was just… too perfect. I hope you all like! Please feel free to review!

**Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?**

XxxxX

_I lost!_

How did she lose?

They were competing. They were playing a friendly game that turned… not so friendly. She bet that she could win. He bet that he could beat her. She bet that if _she_ won, he'd have to cease talking to her, thus making it so he couldn't poke fun. He thought that was fine. But if _he_ won, she'd have to do whatever he said. She said that was okay. He said it was on. They played.

She lost.

How's that possible?

_She's_ the gambling shark! Not him! They had always relied on her to gamble for them, seeing as how she was so talented! They were the bodyguards, whose sole purpose was to protect her, and just when they thought that she was a completely useless comrade, they found that she was a savvy gambler. She was the one they used to win money every now and then when they were too tired to work. After all, she carried around those die all the time… and for what? So she could lose?

No.

So… how did it happen?

_He cheated._

Actually Fuu, he didn't cheat. You were just unlucky. As it turns out, it was one of the _only_ times he hadn't cheated. He won fair and square.

"Okay. What is it?" she asked with mounting frustration, an angry looking frown placing itself upon her lips as she folded her arms over her chest.

"Well…" he said, lengthening her irritation as he tapped his finger to his chin in a thoughtful manner.

"Come on Mugen! Just say it! What do I gotta do now!" She could already tell this was NOT going to be good.

"Let's see…" he teased.

"MUGEN!" she screamed. She was already humiliated enough about losing to him. _That damn hell monkey man-whore!_

"You gotta… be my personal slave," he said with a decidedly evil grin on his face.

"WHAT!"

XxxxX

No longer was it quiet enough in that tiny, tiny room to sleep. Ohh no. Jin woke up, annoyed with his two companions, for the umpteenth time, for not being quiet even though it was very late in the night. _Early morning, to be exact._

"Yeah. That's right. For a whole week," Mugen said, enjoying himself at Fuu's expense.

"No," she said shaking her coffee colored locks, refusing to believe it to be true. _He must've cheated! Or… something!_

"Fuu. You can't go back on it. You bet, you lost; now you gotta pay the price."

"No! I can't, I won't!" she screamed, turning her chocolate brown eyes to the floor and grabbing the folds of her pink kimono.

"Fuu! You can't do that!" yelled Mugen, becoming frustrated with the attractive fifteen year old as he stepped closer to her. _Except… she ain't that attractive…_

"Yes I can!"

"NO!"

"YES!"

"You little…"

"Would you two idiots just shut up?" interjected a quiet voice from a corner somewhere. Jin was sitting cross legged, and had taken all that he could stand.

"What's it to you four eyes!" said Mugen, turning on Jin.

"Fuu," Jin sighed. "It's only fair that you be indebted to him. However unfortunate an event that may be…" he said calmly, glancing over at Mugen.

"Wha? JIN! How can you say that!" screamed Fuu, verging on hysterics at the mere thought of being forced to the will of Mugen.

"Easy. He just did," said Mugen, success creeping into his facial features. He smirked wickedly at his brand new subordinate.

Jin continued, "After all. You both agreed. That makes it binding." He figured he would try to solve this crisis as quickly as possible so that he could maybe sleep some more before the sun turned back on. Although… Jin did feel some remorse for having delivered the virginal maiden to the Big Bad Wolf… _Hm, _he thought, smirking slightly.

"Ohhhhh…" Fuu seethed. She couldn't take being obliged to do anything _Mugen_ wanted! After all, what was that damn dimwitted imbecile gonna make her do! _Hopefully nothing disgusting… ehhh, _she thought as she shuddered, cautious of theunspeakable horrors he might have in mind! She clenched her fists tightly, biting the inside of her cheek. She could not stand losing. She abhorred losing. Even worse was losing to _him_.

XxxxX


	2. On My First Day Of Labor

**On My First Day Of Labor My Tyrant Said To Me…**

XxxxX

_Day One_

"Fuu! Get your ass over here!" yelled Mugen across the field. "We ain't got time to dick around!"

Fuu gritted her teeth. "Whatever," she mumbled under her breath, rolling her eyes. They were continuing their magnificent journey to _somewhere_, and Mugen had left Fuu in charge of carrying an arms' full of food and sake. He just so happened to have lucked out another astonishing win. _More like he cheated again…_ This time he won money, some of which went to food. The rest bought a bottle of sake. That's Mugen for you, never thinking to save.

She cursed under her breath for losing, and cursed Mugen with imminent death. He yelled at her for being too slow, and Jin could do naught but watch, and feel ashamed for having granted her with this awful complication. He liked Fuu. He really did. Maybe he didn't love her, but he certainly liked her more than… well… _other things_.

"Mugen, if you are to accept her… services, then you should treat her kindly," Jin sighed, knowing he made a mistake in making Fuu commit. _Poor unfortunate Fuu_, he thought. _That fool's going to get her injured._

"Says who?" defended Mugen of his promising new talent of overpowering defenseless young women usually named Fuu.

Jin cleared his throat. "None other than the fact that you don't have an ounce of compassion, I should say, it's a lucky thing Fuu hasn't fallen over yet. Considering how much you made her carry and, knowing her habits…" replied a shrewd Jin, always the wittier of the two. He glanced backwards at Fuu and saw her stumbling a little over the grassy hill.

_Maybe… a minute later…_

"AHH!"

Jin had it predicted. How much longer would it take? _Obviously, not too long_.

She hit a particularly rocky patch of dirt that she hadn't seen, and fell over. Not only that, but she scraped her knees and tears were now welling up in her eyes, food and a broken sake bottle scattered over the ground.

_Fool…_ thought an agitated Jin, regarding Mugen's pigheadedness.

"Fuu! You ruined it!" screamed a distraught Mugen over the loss of his precious sake.

"Ow! I- I didn't mean to! Ouch!" cried Fuu over the embarrassment and the pain in her knees. Her face was a bright cherry red, her kimono high above her knees, and her elbows dirty from the fall as she sat on the ground, legs sprawled. She hated what he was doing to her! _It was his own damn fault!_

"Damn it Fuu! We don't got enough money to buy a new one!"

"Maybe you should lick it up off the ground," Jin remarked, as he helped Fuu up on her feet and bent down to salvage what he could of the food.

"ARRGGHHH! THAT'S IT!" Mugen yelled, pulling his messy hair in frustration. He was beyond pissed now! He grabbed his sword and started swinging it violently at Jin. Fuu had since gotten out of the way, and now stood off to the side to watch them have at it as she nursed her legs. They were scraped pretty badly, but there was not too much blood.

_Meanwhile…_

Jin and Mugen were dodging each other's blows. Not until Mugen tripped on a rock and fell face down into the dirt did Jin make it evident that the wild haired man would not win. Not today. It was unfair the way he won, but then again, it was also unfair the way Fuu had been treated.

Breathing heavily, and inhaling some dirt into his mouth, Mugen stayed planted face first to the ground, Jin's foot on the back of his neck.

"I will not let you up until you listen," said Jin, somewhat calmly, although breathing hard after their little escapade. "You really should treat Fuu better. She's been kind to you. Why can't you show her the same respect?"

"Fine," Mugen huffed, blowing dirt out of his mouth. _Fuckin wise ass!_ He breathed heavily as he stood up to his full form, glaring daggers at the taller samurai in blue. However, deep in the crevices of his… can we say… conscience? He did feel a twinge of regret for having made Fuu carry his things. The little voice reasoned that if he had carried them himself, maybe he'd still have his booze. If he were a better man, maybe. But not even in the fires of hell would the present Mugen admit that!

_Little bitch…_

Well, she _did_ drop his sake.

XxxxX

For a long time, the trio said nothing. They just continued to walk silently, Mugen imagining Jin exploding, Fuu tripping every now and then due to her clumsiness, and Jin silently condemning himself for having helped Fuu into that difficult situation earlier. As they walked, Fuu basked in the beauty of the outdoors with Momo, her pet flying squirrel perched on her shoulder. She enjoyed the outdoors, and even though she's slept under the stars more times than she would like to count, she still loved to be cascaded into it. Sometimes, when she could get a break, she would pick wild flowers, and like a child, offer them to Jin, who always accepted them. He told her one time that they reminded him of Shino. She once tried giving Mugen one, near the beginning of their journey together, but he just sniffed his nose at it and grunted something along the lines of "_get that smelly piece of shit outta my face"_.

Fuu continued walking, Jin in front, Mugen behind her. She brooded a little over the events that took place earlier. _He's such an ass! I really hate him sometimes! Why is he always so mean to me anyway? I never did anything to him… well… not reeeeally anyway… okay, so maybe I threw things at him a few times… and called him an idiot… a lot of times… So sue me! He deserved it! He's always making fun of how small my boobs are and how when I eat I get fat! Or how I fall every three secon-_

"Ahh!" She tripped again. This time however, Mugen helped her steady her legs, as he was behind her at the time and was able to reach out and get her by the wrists before she hit the ground. He didn't quite know why he did it, but somewhere deep inside him noticed… _she's a lot softer than I thought…_

"Damn Fuu. You gotta keep your ass from fallin down all the time!" he said, pretending to be annoyed by her. The lost sake was out of mind for the time being, or at least until he could find a time to give her hell about it.

"Ehh… don't you think I know that?" she answered, slightly peeved, but grateful that he did not let her fall. _Always saving me… the jackass._

"Uhh… thanks," she said somewhat sheepishly a little later on to Mugen. Her legs already had many bruises on them from previous falls, so she appreciated not getting one on her butt.

They decided to take a break near a stream, Fuu happily wading into the water to cool down her sore legs. Mugen had taken to the bank to fish and was joking with Fuu again about how Jin was such a horrible fisherman. Jin scowled a little, and set off to find wood for a fire. They figured they would stop for the day. The sun was going to set soon.

Mugen couldn't help but notice Fuu's thin legs as she played innocently in the water. _Kicking and splashing, just like a kid._ She had her kimono pulled up high on her thighs. He didn't usually get to see this much of her legs. They were paler than her face due to not getting as much sun. Her sweet face, tinted with pink, almost matching the color of her kimono. _Still don't believe her…_ he thought as he remembered her saying something about how her clothes make her look _lean_. _Peh… ya right_.

XxxxX

Later on that evening they lounged around a small fire after Mugen had caught dinner, and Fuu had dried off. It was dark by then and the stars were out. Fuu had just laid down and shut her eyes when Mugen said,

"You still owe me six days."

XxxxX


	3. Whack! Bam! Boom!

Hey! Just a bit of randomness to go around. I don't even know where I'm headed with this story anymore. But I figure I could add to it anyway. I like what I got so far and I don't think I plan on changing it anytime soon. Anyway, I hope you like it! _I_ found it a little bit funny. Maybe there's still potential here? Yeah?

**Whack! Bam! Boom!**

XxxxX

_Later that night…_

_God! He _really_ gets me sometimes…_ Fuu was burning in her mind at that last remark of Mugen's. She pretended to be asleep, but really, her eyes were just tightly shut as she gritted her teeth to the sound of Mugen's snores. She couldn't sleep! She wouldn't sleep! Definitely not now after she had been so insulted! Hell, she barely made it through the _first _day of being his slave. How could she get through _six more_! She brooded a little more before she accidentally drifted off. She had planned to hold a grudge, but that was soon forgotten.

XxxxX

_Day Two_

Now, it's not that Mugen _liked_ to think of Fuu, not usually anyway. When he did it was more along the lines of calming his anger by imagining various ways in which she would die. But then he would start to feel a little bit guilty about thinking those morbid thoughts. So, he quit. Well, up until she spilt his sake anyway. Even then, he ended up saving her from falling. He still couldn't pin point the exact reason as to why he had either. That was still a question he didn't have an answer to. However, the night previous to this one was spent just thinking about her. Apparently his actions earlier in the day had forced her image to his mind again and again. Saving her from psychos, perverts, brothels, and death he could understand. But saving her from falling on her ass? That was something he didn't do because not only was it funny as hell, he figured she was a big girl. She could take care of herself.

"Hey, Fuu," called Mugen over his shoulder.

"What?"

"I wanna ask you something."

"Why? What is it?" she asked, suspicious of his motives.

"Just get your ass over here! Besides, you gotta do what I say now remember? You're still my slave for six more days!"

_Ohhh…_ she fumed on the inside. On the outside, however, she smiled sweetly and complied to his request. Fuu figured that if she did what he said, maybe, just maybe, he'd leave her alone. Jin glanced her way. She had been walking ahead of him, and he too was curious of Mugen's next stupid action.

Fuu reluctantly made her way to his side. He was walking so damn fast she could hardly catch up! "What do you want?" she asked him curtly, folding her arms over her chest and looking at him doubtfully.

"So. What you think about Jin huh?" he whispered into her ear as they walked.

"What? You had me run all the way up here just so you could ask me about _Jin_? Why? You secretly want him or something?" she teased.

"NO!" he said a little louder than he meant to. Glancing quickly over his shoulder at Jin and turning back to Fuu to whisper, he said, "I just wanna know what you think you damn moron!"

"OH! I get it. You want my opinion so you know whether or not it'll last right?" she giggled at his obvious anger to this last comment. "Just kidding Mugen. Why do you want know?"

"Well… don't you kinda think he's…"

"Pretty? Handsome? Hot?" she offered.

"Would you shut the hell up!" he hissed through gritted teeth. No wonder he never liked talking to her. "I'm just trying to start a conversation. Now if you would- STOP LAUGHIN LIKE THAT!" he yelled suddenly, and Fuu, who was already in giggles, burst out laughing, and stopped so she could catch a breath. Mugen, meanwhile, was contemplating strangling the woman. Too bad Fish Face was so close.

"Sorry… sorry…" she sniggered, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Okay. What was it you wanted to ask Mugen?" She was still giggling.

"Forget it."

"No, I'm really really sorry Mugen. I swear I won't do it again. Just tell me."

"No."

"Why not?" she pouted.

"Just shut up and get your fat ass walking."

"No," she said simply.

"What?"

"I said no. I don't really feel like walking anymore. I'm hungry anyway. You think we could stop for a bit? My feet are starting to hurt."

"No. We're not stopping. Get your ass moving."

"No. I don't want to walk."

"Walk," he demanded.

"No. I don't want to."

"WALK DAMNIT!"

"NO!" she screamed back. Then she added in a sing songy voice, "Besides… you can't make me walk. Because if you do, I'll tell Jin what you just said…"

"And what did I just say?" he bit angrily.

"You just told me that you thought Jin was hot and that you really wanted to jump him a long time ago it's just that you're a coward and that you thought he'd think you're ugly."

"YOU DAMN BITCH!" he bellowed out for the road to hear. Ohh… he really wanted to smack her good across the face! Or drown her in the lake! ANYTHING to get her off his back! Maybe her being his slave wasn't the best idea… although… she wasn't being a very good one.

"God Mugen! What's your problem? I'm just tryin to have a little fun! Besides. You _always_ tell me I'm ugly and that I'm fat and stuff. But if I say _one little thin_g to you, you get all defensive and angry and start yelling… and besides… you're scaring Jin."

SMACK! Damn, and he got her good too.

"YOU JACKASS! THAT HURT!" she screamed in surprise, outrage, and pain. Jin came running up to her and held her shoulder, steering her away from the insane wild man before her, and giving him a very dirty look before turning away. She started to cry and was rubbing her cheek now. It was turning red from the impact. Admittedly, he had held back a lot more than he had planned to. He definitely didn't hit her as hard as he felt she deserved. But he did start to feel guilty for having done it the instant he did.

XxxxX


	4. Rosy Butterflies and Kitty Cats

**Rosy Butterflies and Kitty Cats**

XxxxX

Fuu avoided Mugen at any possible moment for a long few hours. She spent most of it hiding behind Jin whenever Mugen got too close. She wanted him to feel bad. _She_ felt bad. Her cheek was still hurting. God damn! He hit hard too! They stopped near another river and Mugen went off to go do something. _Maybe he won't come back_, thought Fuu angrily. She sat down next to the bank of the river and let a foot slip inside the water. It felt cool. The day was warm, and it was just going to get warmer as it progressed. It was only around noon.

Jin sat down and started to fish. Although, knowing Jin, Fuu stood up and began checking the surrounding bushes for berries, and the trees for nuts. Momo, Fuu's pet flying squirrel, even poked her head out to check with her. "Hey Momo. That jackass Mugen went off somewhere. He's so mean! God! I can't even tease him without him blowing up and hitting me! Damn that hurt too. What's his problem anyway?"

XxxxX

Mugen was angry. _What the hell?_ He thundered through the forest, looking for… what was he looking for? _Oh right. Firewood or some shit._ He didn't even know. He sat down among the leaves and grabbed his head in frustration. She just really pissed him off! She knows he's not good with stuff like that! Well, she _should_! How long've they known each other? _Long enough_, he figured. She should know him well enough by now to not provoke him like she did. _Why'd she do that? Who was she kidding?_ _Doesn't she know that if you play with fire you'll get burned?_

Either way, this quiet moment to himself did not resolve the guilt he felt. He had only himself to blame when it really came down to it. He slowly picked himself back up, deciding to try to apologize without really… apologizing.

XxxxX

When he came back, he was not warm welcomed. No one even acknowledged that he had returned. He threw down the sticks and started to build a fire. He turned to glance at Jin, who still had not caught any fish, then towards Fuu who was off near the bushes with a large amount of berries and nuts in the folds of her kimono. Momo was perched on her shoulder, nibbling away.

Mugen's back was facing her. She started to walk towards where the fire was so she could sit down, but when she was a foot behind Mugen, she tripped, fell on top of him, and spilled all the contents of the forest meal she had just gathered onto the ground.

"Sorry! Sorry!" she yelled as she scrambled to get up, but her legs were still in the air while the rest of her was in his lap. She was wriggling and trying to get up, not sure if he would hit her again, and Mugen was not helping by not moving an inch. Because of this she accidentally elbowed him in the face.

"Ouch!" he yelped.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to! If you could… just… help me off?" she asked as she continued to wriggle and squirm. He helped her roll off by pushing her torso sideways and out of his lap.

"Thanks," she said, brushing the dirt off of her clothes and looking at him timidly.

"Hm," he grunted.

"I said I was sorry," she mumbled quietly, but hoping he would hear her. She began picking up some of the berries and nuts, dusting them off and placing them in her lap, but decided to leave the ones that had fallen next to Mugen. She ate a few to help tide her over. She was really hungry, but man, what was taking Jin so long! But she knew better than to say anything. She didn't want a repeat of earlier… but she doubted Jin would ever hit her.

"OI! You gonna catch something or not!"

_Guess I didn't have to ask then…_ thought Fuu, secretly thanking Mugen for finally speaking up.

Jin didn't reply. He only held up his sword with a few dead fish speared to it.

XxxxX

"Fuu…?" Mugen called quietly out into the dark of the forest. He had woken up in the middle of the night and noticed someone missing. However, he didn't need to trek far to find her. She was only about thirty feet away. She was sitting on the bank with both feet in the water, her elbows propping her up, and her head was up towards the sky, the light from the moon bouncing off of her skin. He stalked up behind her and sat down quietly. He didn't know if she had noticed him or not. She didn't say anything, and she didn't move. But when he spoke, she jumped a little, so he knew that she didn't know he had been there.

"How long have you been sitting there?" she asked him quietly, looking at him through the corner of her eye before turning her gaze out to the river and slowly sitting up straight.

"Not long."

"Pervert…What do you want?" she asked him sleepily, placing a hand to her rosy lips in a yawn and raising an arm over her head to arch her neck and back in a lengthening stretch.

He didn't reply. He was watching her. He saw how her lips parted as they took in air before she covered them with her hand. Then his attention turned towards her pale fingers. Against his own, he would feel like a giant. Against her now, he felt like a monster. She was so tiny and frail, and it hadn't taken much to hurt her. He didn't even want to hurt her. He liked making her angry, yes, but he had never wanted to hurt her.

"So… you just gonna keep watching me like that then? Cause it's kinda freaking me out," she said, turning to look at him. The moon shined in her eyes, and he could see the darkness and the length of her eyelashes. They fluttered like butterflies over her cheek, feather soft, and barely there. Then he noticed it. The mark. The place that he had injured. The only area he could ever say he touched was there, pink and purple, almost like a bad sunburn on the apple of her cheek, trailing outwards towards her ear only not quite making it. It was strange, but knowing that there was a marking on her from something he had done made him feel both ashamed and impishly surprised. As he came to terms with this, he privately asked himself if there was anything else could he soil… He reached out a hand to cup her face.

He was just looking. He could swear it. _Would_ swear it if he had to. Just curious. Not planning anything suspicious… not thinking anything strange. Nope. Just looking. He felt his fingers against her skin. It felt warm and smooth like nothing he'd ever felt before. It was silky and warm and soft. She flinched slightly as a finger pressed against her bruised cheek. He pulled back instantly, but then replaced his palm near her ear. His fingers began to run down her neck, feeling more of her soft white skin. He began evaluating the feel, but nothing he compared it with felt as good. She had since closed her eyes, her mind falling into a dangerous haze, her eyes fluttering open and closed every time his hand moved even the slightest bit.

Then it happened. She gave the quietest, softest, sexiest moan Mugen had ever heard in his life, and something inside of him twitched with an agonizing passion. He could feel it vibrate into his fingers, racing through his bones as it made it's way up his arm and into his head. Suddenly, his salacious thoughts brainwashed his mind and he _had_ to know what else he could do to make her purr that way again.

XxxxX

**-V-V-V-**

Okay… I changed some things a little bit. Well, the people that have already read it will see a difference anyway. Hope you like it!


	5. Suddenly Efflorescent

**Suddenly Efflorescent**

He captured her lips unexpectedly, her eyes surprised, and then relaxed. He could tell that she was inexperienced with the way she reacted when he slipped his tongue into her mouth. Her first response was to withdraw from him the instant she felt him skillfully part her lips. But he'd kept a firm grasp on her shoulder, making it almost impossible for her to escape him. He helped mitigate her panic, working his fingers through her dark strands and down her back before trailing them down to her waist. He held her snugly in his arms, cerulean bands encircling her body closely, suntanned skin serving as a radical contrast between him and her milky white expression. She sighed softly, leaning more into his secure frame. He took this as invitation, so he laid them both down, breaking the contact he held with her briefly. His lean form was hovering over hers, thick strong arms locking his position above her. She gazed at him with intensely sweet eyes, and he questioned how he never before realized the attractiveness of her fundamental nature.

She was most unlike the other women he usually ogled on the street. They were mostly made-up, busty wenches with personalities more flaky than the scalps of those dirty old men that work in brothels. They were mostly conniving, nitpicky broads that were impossible to figure out, and they never could keep their word. And if they weren't, they were usually the most brainless, ignorant girls on the planet whose only good quality was in appearance.

But Fuu? No… she was simple. He knew everything there was to know about her, from her voracious appetite to her diligent care when one was bedridden and feverish. Her skin felt like the down of feathers, and while the spongy grass cushioned her body, he could feel himself falling into more amazement with her, charmed by her dainty feminine characteristics. Take for example, the way her hair fell about her face. It was usually dark brown and dull, and reminded him of nothing more than that which grew out of her head. But at the moment, it framed her face just _so_, and he couldn't take his eyes off of her.

He just stayed there, wondering what sort of thoughts were running through her mind. Did she care that he had just kissed her? Did she mind that he had stuck his tongue in her mouth, even though she hadn't been expecting it? And she probably had never even thought about doing something like that in her life.

What was she thinking?

The fact that he was lying on top of her slowly registered in his mind. Surprised that he hadn't been paying attention to his actions, and even more shocked that Fuu had allowed this to happen, the sight of her stubborn pink lips brainwashed him all over again and he couldn't help himself when he closed the scant distance between them once more.

He worked his lips over hers, slanting any which way that would grant him the most access to her soft, warm mouth.

It was right around the time she felt his hand run up her thigh that she realized what was really going on. Her eyes widened with surprise, and she began scrambling around beneath him, the contact they held immediately broken.

"W-Wait… Mugen…?" She pushed him away gently, far enough so that she could look at him without having to cross her eyes.

"Hm?"

She repositioned herself so that her arms, although bent behind her, were what were keeping her from the chill ground.

"We… you… uhh…"

"Huh?"

"I mean… what if…?"

"If you're goin to say something, today would be good." He didn't even have to try to achieve that irritating tone in his voice that sounded very much like he was mocking her. It was more like a gift really. But he chuckled lightly, and this made her feel somewhat more relaxed.

She looked like she wanted to say something. She _really_ wanted to say something; only, she didn't quite know how to express it. So she did the only thing she knew to do in that moment. She removed herself from underneath him.

Mugen wasn't an idiot. He figured she just got spooked. Hell… he felt a little weird himself.

She sat near him in the grass, fixing her rumpled clothes, dusting it of whatever dirt might have collected there. When she was satisfied, she turned to him again. He just sat there watching her. She looked unreal in the pearlescent moonlight. She almost looked like some sort of forest nymph, the kind that tempt you to the waters and put spells on you.

"So… does this mean you're not mad at me?" Her voice was quiet, barely a whisper, and she was staring him in the eyes.

"What?"

"Well… I-I did sort of… piss you off earlier." She began rubbing the back of her neck like she was nervous.

"Oh yeah…" he replied as he scratched his head inattentively.

"What? You forgot? How could you forget? I mean… I basically said you liked guys… and then you hit me..." She wasn't looking at him anymore, but rather staring indifferently at the long grass beneath her knees. "…you _definitely_ don't like guys…" she added absently, in almost a whisper to herself.

"I definitely don't _not_ like girls," he said brainlessly. Her face turned that pinkish red color it gets when she's embarrassed.

"Yes, I know."

It became almost awkwardly silent.

"Hey, come 'ere."

"Huh? W-Why?"

"Just get your butt over here."

So she scooted over to him. He pulled her into his lap and grasped her chin, examining carefully the apple of her cheek. It was red, and maybe a little purple as well, but it didn't look too bad. It'd probably go away in a few days.

"You won't do it again… will you?" As she asked this, she didn't look at him, instead looking out towards the water, like she was uncomfortable asking him of it.

He turned her face so that he could see her eyes. Things were definitely very different now…


End file.
